WELCOME IRISH FOOTBALL FANS

WELCOME IRISH FOOTBALL FANS!
We have established this Blog to share any and all thoughts and discuss issues relating to Notre Dame Football.
We are Subway Alumni Notre Dame Fans who love IRISH Football and The University of Notre Dame Du Lac. This is the place to interact, learn, discuss, perk interest, argue, keep you informed, have some fun and maybe help perpetuate the traditions and history of Notre Dame Football.

Check out the archives, for some great posts or scroll down the right side for the most popular. At the bottom of the Blog, we have added 50+ neat pictures of the Notre Dame Campus.

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Feel free to make comments to the posts. We read and try to answer all of them.
Email us at: dragonspress@gmail.com
Welcome Aboard!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Why Dayne Crist Will Not Be The Starting Quarterback in 2011















The overriding question between now and September 3rd is going to be who will quarterback for the Fighting Irish? The ultimate decision may not be Coach Brian Kelly’s but rather the healing ability of Dayne Crist.


In the past to help sort through serious IRISH injuries Subway Alumni Station has called upon an experienced physical therapist that ends up dealing with the injury and the handiwork of the skilled surgeon.

Alex Brenner has over 15 years of physical therapy experience in the military, private clinics and the U.S. Public Health Service. He is rated as a DPT, Doctor of Physical Therapy.


"I have noticed in many Notre Dame Blogs and articles the consensus on the race for the 2011 QB position will be between Tommy Rees and veteran Dayne Crist. What many of these articles and blogs fail to address is the health of Dayne Crist. Naturally most bloggers and sports analysts are unfamiliar with the consequences of a patellar rupture injury. I am also surprised at the lack of information available concerning the rehabilitation of Crist’s left knee patellar rupture injury that he suffered during the first quarter of the Notre Dame – Tulsa game back in late October of last year. Notre Dame has been very “hush-hush” on his recovery. A patellar rupture injury is a very bad injury, arguably worse than his right knee ACL tear which incidentally he suffered almost exactly one year to the day from his patellar rupture.


Anatomically the patellar tendon is formed from the four quadriceps muscles (hence the name, “quads”) in the anterior thigh and runs from the inferior pole of the knee cap and attaches to the boney prominence on the lower leg (tibia). Patellar ruptures are not typically common in elite younger athletes but are seen more frequently in older athletes trying to compete a high level when their bodies are not quite in shape to do so. What bothers me about this injury is that patellar tendons are quite strong and so for his to fail on him there must have been some predisposing factors or micro trauma that already existed in the knee causing it to be weakened. My educated guess is that he probably returned too quickly from his right ACL reconstruction last year and had to use his left knee to compensate for a not quite 100% right knee.


A patellar rupture does not heal on its own; it has to be surgically reattached to the boney prominence from which it tore. Also, tendons, due to poor vascular supply, heal VERY slowly. It is not uncommon for these injuries to take over a year to heal properly even with a top notch rehabilitation staff which I am sure is in place at Notre Dame.


So now we have a guy with arguably two “bum” knees who will try to go out and compete at a very high level against a younger and healthier Tommy Rees and not to mention three other guys who also will be biting and scratching to be in the mix. As a physical therapist who has worked with athletes with these types of injuries, I just don’t have a “warm and fuzzy” about Crist’s return especially when Brian Kelly’s spread-style offense requires a very mobile QB. Having observed Crist’s play last year on television and first hand at the Michigan game last year, I can say confidently that he doesn’t have great mobility. Throw in two major knee injuries and you now have a QB that will need to rely on staying in the pocket. It is possible that he could be a successful pocket passer; however, I don’t think this is compatible with a Kelly Spread Offense and therefore we will be hard pressed to see him under center next fall. Time will tell."

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Monday, January 24, 2011

Luke Massa – Right Kind of Guy?


Notre Dame Head coach Brian Kelly stated the obvious at a post Sun Bowl-Pre Signing Letter of Intent Day press conference last Friday. The Irish can only carry, train, develop and get game ready four (4) quarterbacks. Seven are currently on-roster and in school.

Dayne Crist – Senior

Tommy Rees – Sophomore

Andrew Hendrix – Sophomore (RS)

Everett Golson – Freshman

Matthew Mulvey – Senior (WO)

Nate Montana – Senior

Luke Massa – Sophomore (RS)

So any competition, evaluation, development at the quarterback position during spring practice will be with four candidates. Common sense would list the seven quarterbacks in the above depth chart and in 2011 eligibility order.

Mulvey will most likely continue as a walk-on red hat signaler.

How Montana’s status will be resolved is both political and touchy. Conventional wisdom would retain Nate on the roster in his previous walk-on status.

That leaves Luke Massa.

Luke was a verbal commitment to Kelly and the Cincinnati Bearcats. All that changed when Kelly took over the Fighting Irish and offered Massa a scholarship to Notre Dame. During his senior year at Saint Xavier High School in hometown Cincinnati, Massa had a 67% completion rate, 1,800 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Besides the Bearcats, Massa had offers from Wisconsin, Kentucky, Virginia and then Notre Dame. He was recruited and brought on board as one of those “Right Kind of Guys (RKG)” coach Kelly sought during an initial and short recruiting year way back in 2009-2010.

Without ever watching Luke Massa play football or even practice it is not really fair to evaluate his chances in making what appears to be Kelly’s mental cut. Highlight clips on the internet are exactly those clips of your best performances and are now ancient history.

He is a pro style pocket passer and up to 6’ 4” 215 lbs. from 6” 4” and 175 lbs. in high school.

Scouts gave him a two-star rating and Rival a three-star. Luke was a starting forward on the Xavier basketball team and has good hands.

Rarely does a question about Andrew Hendrix exclude a reference to Luke Massa. Likewise, any inquiry about Luke Massa usually is accompanied by mention of Andrew Hendrix. The only reason we have in choosing Hendrix over Massa is the fact that Kelly pulled Hendrix up to fourth on the depth chart when Crist went down in the Tulsa game. Both are pocket passers and both are similar in build and statue.

It would appear he has two choices. Accept another role at Notre Dame as a RKG or transfer to another school. The most obvious role would be receiver but that position is currently loaded with talent and potential.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out for Luke Massa.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Early NFL Declarations for the Draft

Kyle Rudolph will have a lot of company (51 total) with those college men deciding to forego education and seek fame and $$$ in the NFL. He is the only early TE, although Michael Floyd would have joined a group of eight WRs.

Good Luck Kyle. Thanks for the memories.  God Speed.

Last season, 53 underclassmen entered the 2010 NFL Draft. That number tied a record for most underclassmen in the draft. In 2009, 46 declared. In 2008, there were those 53.


Here is the final tally. Those six listed in bold red would have faced the Irish in 2011.


College football underclassmen who have elected to turn pro early


Name School Position Year

Darvin Adams Auburn WR Jr.

Akeem Ayers UCLA LB Jr.

Jon Baldwin Pitt WR Jr.

Da'Quan Bowers Clemson DE Jr.

DeAndre Brown Southern Miss WR Jr.

Brandon Burton Utah CB Jr.

Jurrell Casey USC DT Jr.

John Clay Wisconsin RB Jr.

Nick Claytor Georgia Tech OT Jr.

Randall Cobb Kentucky AP Jr.

Marcell Dareus Alabama DE Jr.

Tandon Doss Indiana WR Jr.

Darren Evans Virginia Tech RB Jr.

Nick Fairley Auburn DT Jr.

Blaine Gabbert Missouri QB Jr.

A.J. Green Georgia WR Jr.

Tori Gurley South Carolina WR So.

Lawrence Guy Arizona State DT Jr.

Jamie Harper Clemson RB Jr.

Brandon Harris Miami CB Jr.

Will Hill Florida S Jr.

Justin Houston Georgia LB Jr.

Henry Hynoski Pitt FB Jr.

Mark Ingram Alabama RB Jr.

Julio Jones Alabama WR Jr.

Thomas Keiser Stanford LB Jr.

Mikel Leshoure Illinois RB Jr.

Dion Lewis Pitt RB So.

Corey Liuget Illinois DT Jr.

Ryan Mallett Arkansas QB Jr.

Rahim Moore UCLA S Jr.

Cam Newton Auburn QB Jr.

Zane Parr Virginia DE Jr.

Patrick Peterson LSU CB Jr.

Jerrell Powe Ole Miss DT Jr.

Stevan Ridley LSU RB Jr.

Jacquizz Rodgers Oregon State RB Jr.

Kyle Rudolph Notre Dame TE Jr.

Robert Sands West Virginia S Jr.

Tyler Sash Iowa S Jr.

Sealver Siliga Utah DT Jr.

Aldon Smith Missouri DE So.

Torrey Smith Maryland WR/KR Jr.

Tyron Smith USC OT Jr.

Jordan Todman Connecticut RB Jr.

Shane Vereen Cal RB Jr.

J.J. Watt Wisconsin DE Jr.

Muhammad Wilkerson Temple DT Jr.

Aaron Williams Texas CB Jr.

Ryan Williams Virginia Tech RB So.

Martez Wilson Illinois LB Jr.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Best Photo Caption


During pregame warm-ups at the Sun Bowl, a number of Miami Hurricane players came out trying to make a fashion statement. About the same time a number of Notre Dame football players came out wearing T-shirts and shorts.


The mighty Canes went from convicts to wimps in less than a generation.

You could hear the Fat Lady loosening up her vocal cords already.

The photo got lost in the Irish victory, New Year’s Eve celebrations and the many fine shots of Harrison Smith and Michael Floyd.

We here at Subway Alumni Station will never, ever forget the 58-7 humiliation in 1985 at the Miami Orange Bowl by Jimmy Johnson and the Canes. Poor Gerry Faust was not given a chance to quietly fad into the sunset.

Thus we are looking for a caption to the great shot above. Vote on the one you like or if you have a better one, send it in and we’ll add it to the list.  Check out the right side of the Blog.  Vote until January 31.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Some Raw Numbers And Tough Decisions For Coach Brian Kelly


Take these numbers with a good dose of the salt shaker.  Issues may be at hand that are unknown to the common Subway Alumni.  Coach Kelly keeps things close to his vest.

Tentative Verbal Commitments for 2011 – 23

On Scholarship * - 56

Fifth year seniors ** - 9

22 + 56 + 9 = 88. Three over the 85 NCAA limit.

* Includes Nate Montana

** Dever, Gray, Nwankwo, Nuss, Paskorz, Ragone, Romine, Ruffer, Smith (Walker and Wenger are not included)

Based upon playing time and recordable statistics it would appear that Dever, Gray, Nuss, Romine, Ruffer and Smith are in line for scholarships if they want them.  Remember too all scholarships are technically approved yearly for everybody, however fifth year seniors are kind of a special case.

So: 23 + 566 = 85.  But that can’t be right either. Kelly is still in the hunt and has offers on the table to a number of other recruits.

Thus which additional fifth year seniors will not make the cut?

How many more for the 2011 recruiting class will Coach Kelly take?

A nagging side issue includes 6 quarterbacks and 4 kickers on scholarship.

Stay tuned. Decisions. Decisions.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

And Aaron Lynch Makes 22

Man will Christmas never end for the Irish?

Lynch visits Notre Dame in the dead of winter, tons of snow, no students.  This is the same guy who withdrew his committment after Notre Dame was humiliated by Navy and Tulsa?  Classes start tuesday, hope you like snow Aaron.

First the Sun Bowl and now the recruits keep lining up. All 22 are on the right side of the Blog if you are interested. This is shaping up as a top five recruiting class.

Can't forgot Floyd's decision to earn a degree.

Who else is on Coach Brian Kelly’s speed dial?

Where are all the Kelly recruiting ability naysayers now?
Which fifth year seniors are not going to make the cut and get scholarships?

Will Nate Montana have to pay his way?  [I guess we all understood the gesture in offering a scholarship but never quite understood the reason.  Maybe scholarships were not that tight last year.]

How about David Ruffer?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Way To Go Michael


We expect to see a lot of these leaping catches in 2011.

Well we got it half right on our post concerning the likelihood that Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd would remain at Notre to complete their education and senior year on the football team.

The results of the pathetic poll that was posted: Will Michael Floyd return for his senior year?

Yes – 8

No -10

Maybe – 1

It is still our belief that Rudolph coming off a major injury and the potential of not being ready for the NFL combine in April will drastically hurt his chances.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Let’s Go Bowling !

Now that we have your attention.


So how did Notre Dame’s 2010 opponents perform during the bowl season? Here are the results loyal lads of Notre Dame and Subway Alumni Station followers:



Purdue – With a dismal 4-8 season sat and watched the games from the comfort of their West Lafayette living rooms. Probably contemplating how in 2011 they can stay out of the cellar where their “Old Oaken Bucket” buddy Indiana now resides.

Michigan – Managed to get pounded by Mississippi State 52-14, and have their coach unceremoniously fired. When was the last time you observed a coach hanging in the breeze so long? Michigan is in disarray and hopefully will remain so until at least after we visit the Big House on September 10th.

Michigan State – Was totally humiliated by Alabama 49-7. We here at SAS are thankful that the results did not bring on another heart attack to Coach Dantonio.

Stanford – Showed the Hokies the way to the door with a 40-12 shellacking. The happy results vaulted Jim Harbaugh to the NFL 49ers and out of our hair. Thank you Hokies.

Boston College – Highly overrated Nevada (#15) defeated the other Catholic School 20-13.  Amazingly enough over 41,000 showed up to watch the game.  That's probably more than watched it on TV considering the NFL dominated the airwaves all day.

Pittsburgh – Beat 6-7 Kentucky in a waste-of-time bowl. Kudos to Pitt for the victory with an interim coach after going through two head coaches in less than a month and still looking for a third.

Western Michigan - The 6-6 Broncos stayed home in Timbuktu or is it Kalamazoo? Maybe if the bowl gods increase the number of bowl games from 30 to say 40, they could bowl too.

Navy – Where as Notre Dame could not stop the Triple Option, SDSU had Navy’s number and beat them rather nicely 35-14.

Tulsa – In a game devoid of defense, defeated Hawaii, 62-35.

Utah – Continued to be exposed (10-3) and was soundly beaten by BSU 26-3.

Army – The Golden Knights eked out a 16-14 win over SMU. Go Long Gray Line.

Southern Cal – Because of running a shabby and loose football program, USC with a 7-5 eligible bowl record was forced to side on the sidelines. We are looking forward to pounding them in South Bend in 2011.

So the tally is..............  W- 4    L - 5     DP - 3

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Education of Brian Kelly




Well the 2010 season is in the books and the ink is now dry. A lot happened. Some arm pumping YES! But way too much wailing and grinding of teeth over lost opportunities. It could obviously have been better, but could have also been a lot worse. The injuries both season ending and nagging game-to-game took their toll on the team. Coaching and playing mistakes cost Notre Dame two games. However, the last four games made us all very proud. What was learned? What did Kelly take away from the season? What did we learn as well?

There is reason for excitement in 2011 with the battle over the quarterback position. Maybe even two QB’s sharing playing time befuddling the opponent’s defensive game plans? Many football pundits turn their noses up to that proposition but with a huge stable of quarterbacks with different styles, strengths and weaknesses it makes sharing huddle time very attractive. A special package of plays for two quarterbacks including some Leprechaun type shenanigans is very appealing.

The Irish are obviously on a roll with those four straight wins. With some young quality players returning this year (2011), some good looking, exciting recruits and everyone else being a little smarter. Including Coach Kelly.

ND 23 Purdue 12 – As soon as the game ended, you could smell it. Purdue kind of stunk. The season bore out the odor of  a 4-8 record with lackluster wins over Western Illinois, Ball State, Minnesota, and Northwestern and an embarrassing loss to Toledo. It should have been a wakeup call that things were not right in ND Nation. We should have blown them out of the stadium yet we struggled with a two touchdown win. Whatever adjustments were made for Michigan did not appear to work.

Michigan 28 ND 24 – Michigan was/is a one dimensional offense centered around QB Denard Robinson. Take away the short pass in the flats and put a spy on him to stop the scramble and QB draw. If that was the Kelly game play, it did not work. No quarterback should amass 258 yards rushing. Nor should he be able to connect at will on short passes to the sidelines. The next man in philosophy that was much talked about was smoke and mirrors as neither Rees nor Montana were prepared to take over the offense for a groggy Dayne Crist.

MSU 34 ND 31 (OT) – If coach Mark Dantonio had known his call for a fake field goal would end up costing him a heart attack you wonder if he would have called it. The Irish should have known better. It was beyond the range of the Spartan field goal kicker. Two ND defenders fell down and the OT loss hurt worse than the one against Michigan. Would a full-time Special Teams coach have made any difference? Probably not.

Stanford 37 ND 14 – This one really hurt. Stanford outplayed the Irish this year. Jim Harbaugh is a very good coach who gets his teams ready in late August. They play old Big Ten smash mouth in your face mask football. They were licking their chops knowing the Irish were on the ropes after two loses. It was a simple mismatch. What could have ND done to change the outcome? The coaching, game play and talent level were in a different league.

ND 31 Boston College 13 – A nice on the road win against the 'Other Catholics'. Notre Dame was written off as tanked coming into the game. The coaching staff was instrumental in turning around a disheartened team and deserve a lot of credit for the win. The coaching and play was exacting what the doctor ordered. The game was not even close.

ND 23 Pittsburgh 17 – Although ending up 7-5 like the Irish, Pittsburgh like Purdue is another team Kelly should have put away easily. Notre Dame struggled all year trying to put together four quarters of solid football. Where was the high powered spread offense Kelly preached?

ND 44 Western Michigan 20 – Thank you for scheduling a cupcake Mr. AD. Nothing wrong in playing a Michigan compass school at home to help boost the morale and give playing time to the bench, the Big Ten does it all the time. Thank goodness it wasn’t another lackluster Purdue or Pitt game.

Navy 35 ND 17 – To say that Notre Dame had a worthless defensive game plan is being polite. How can you let the first option (fullback handoff) of a triple option gain 210 yards? Navy never had to execute the quarterback carry (except on short yardage touchdowns) or pitch to the trailing back. Navy was stoppable, ask Maryland or Duke. Coach Kelly mentioned that 20 minutes of every fall practice was dedicated to Navy’s and Army’s triple option. That in itself is kind of scary admission and watching the blowout.

Tulsa 28 ND 27 – If a lack of a game plan was evident in the loss to Navy, the decision to allow a freshman quarterback to throw for a touchdown instead of kicking a field goal was worse. The loss of Dayne Crist to injury really hurt (no pun intended). Yes a touchdown would have forced Tulsa into a situation where they could not have kicked a field goal to win, but of course that was not necessary because of the pick. It was surprising that Kelly had that much confidence in Rees coming off the bench instead of a steady David Ruffer.

ND 28 Utah 3 – In probably one of the most amazing turnarounds in recent memory, Kelly and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco earned their paychecks in holding together a very discouraged football team. Give credit to the seniors as well. Kelly pushed them to rally the underclassmen. The defense rose to the occasion. The boost of defeating a ranked team, not allowing a touchdown and Tommy Rees earning his first victory were the start of something big.

ND 27 Army 3 – Another scheduling and also a great recruiting coup for Notre Dame. Army in Yankee Stadium at night, what a neat concept! What did Kelly learn? Don’t kick an inferior opponent when they are down. Live with the distractions of a nationally televised game and the media frenzy before and after.

ND 20 Southern Cal 16 – This is THE GAME. This is the season. This is security in your job. Beat USC. Yes Ronald Johnson wide open dropped a sure touchdown pass, but after Michigan State and Tulsa, Coach Kelly earned a break and learned in the process. He had a defense. He didn’t need to score quickly and often.

ND 33 Miami 17 (Sun Bowl) – Coach Kelly picked up immediately about this dormant rivalry. You just don’t have these at Grand Valley State or Cincinnati. His control of the 15 practices, fitting in final exams, preparation, game plan, setting the mental aptitude and gauging the team peaking physical were simply outstanding. Miami never had a chance.

2010 was the turnaround year for Notre Dame. You wait, watch and see. Lessons were learned and the education was exciting although rough and bumpy.


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Lighting a Candle at the Grotto


Sometimes you have to go with your gut.  Screw the expense.  This is important for Notre Dame Football.
Fire up the Gulfstream IV, submit the flight plan for South Bend.  We here at Subway Alumni Station are on a MISSION.  No one can stop us.


Kiss the spouse goodbye for a day. The entire SAS staff is going to the Grotto.




The students are on winter break, we can't call on them.  It is up to us, the loyal subway alumni!



So Rich Rodriguez got fired.  So be it.
The issue is Jim Harbaugh.  Obviously a very good coach.
We do not want him at Stanford where he cleaned our clock in 2010.
We do not want him at Michigan for obvious reasons.




We are lighting candles like crazy even as this is being typed at the Grotto.
Why?  That the 49er's or the Broncos will offer him $$$$$$$$$.
Thank you for reading.
Go Irish. 

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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Three Polls to Help Wait for Recruiting News from Notre Dame (Adjusted)



Editor comments below...........

Sylvia our assistant lay-out editor found some room on the right side of the Blog so we here at Subway Alumni Station decided to conduct a couple of unscientific polls. The burning questions of the New Year are:

Will Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd declare for the NFL draft?

How long will Charlie Weis last at Florida?

It appears that Charles Weis Jr. is interested in the coaching profession. What better way than to learn at Florida and alongside your father? It is a plus-plus for Mr. and Mrs. Weis, the family is not separated and Charles Jr. gets special treatment and unbelievable experience.

As we do in West Virginia, vote early, vote often.

********************************************

So Kyle Rudolph has opted for the NFL draft eh?

No sense in keeping his poll up.

Kyle. Good luck. Wish you well. The IRISH will miss you. God speed. Hope you return some day to earn your degree.

You are making a terrible mistake.

Of course the NFL wants you and has evaluated you very highly.

First tight end (TE) to be drafted?

Son, they do that to all the college juniors. They need new, fresh meat.

Will you be physically ready for the NFL combine?

If not, will some team pick you on your highlight film alone?

Will NFL teams take a chance on damaged goods?

The draft 2011 TE class is kind of lean.

Are your statistics all that impressive?

You got the size and the hands.

How many NFL teams are in the market to draft a rookie TE?

Your speed is great for a TE. Gee, you ran super for that 95 yard touchdown against Michigan.

The NFL is going to be interesting this year. Lockout? Strike? Rookie salary cap? Expanded roster? 18 game schedule?

Yup. The money smells sweet. Hope you get it all son.


Sunday, January 2, 2011

Seizing and Safeguarding Mo

What is Mo?

The Curley, Larry, and Moe of the Three Stooges? No not that Moe.

Gary Moeller as in former Coach Mo of our northern nemesis Michigan? Gracious no not that Mo.

Mort Zuckerman billionaire publisher? No not that Mo either (darn).

Big Mo in meaning the Battleship Missouri?  Heavens no, taking on the Navy football team is plenty enough.

Mo = Momentum – A positive strength and force within a football program or a surging direction during an individual game leading to a successful conclusion for one team.

Come on IRISH football fans you knew that.

Mo is fickle. It is elusive. Mo is hard to keep once you get it. You can’t buy Mo. Not even with Big Ten Championship rings or Fiesta Bowl MVP awards. You got to earn Mo.

Mo can be Short Term or Long Term.

Some teams have no Mo. The University of Pittsburg has no Mo. They fired two head coaches within 30 days. (Probably an NCAA record) In fact, they not only have no Mo, they have bad Juju. (Which is scheduled to be defined in a future post) What Pitt has is an AD and a President who look like idiots, worried recruits, season ticket holders and alumni reevaluating their interest in the team and an entire Football Program looking for Mo.

Our northern nemesis has no Mo. They lost their Mo when they beat Illinois in triple overtime 67-65. Yes, they beat Purdue the next week 27-16, but they had already lost their Mo. Mississippi State was disappointed; they wanted to play a team with some Mo. Nope. Michigan brought no Mo. Only when they fire Rich Rod and hire Jim Harbaugh will Michigan begin to find some much needed Long Term Mo.

You do not want to lose Mo. Especially during a football game. Notre Dame has lost Mo far too many times. Remember: 1974, USC 55, Notre Dame 24?

Notre Dame had plenty of Mo, leading 24 – 0, then with 10 seconds remaining before halftime, Anthony Davis scored on a 7-yard pass from Pat Haden. Notre Dame went into the locker room thinking they had Mo, instead Mo walked over to the USC locker room. At the start of the second half, Davis took the opening kickoff of and raced 102 yards for a score, opening the floodgates as USC rallied for 35 points in the third quarter. For good measure USC scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter just to show Notre Dame who really ended up with Mo.

Short Term Mo is very important in maintaining positive strength of direction during a football game, either you got it or you don’t. Miami in the Sun Bowl had no Mo. Coming in after losing two games Miami brought no Mo. They didn’t really have a head coach either. Plus they were cold and dispirited, you can’t safeguard Mo shivering, listening to a coach who won’t be your head coach after the game.

Long Term Mo. Notre Dame has Long Term Mo. Four wins in a row over some pretty good comparative teams. Very nice. Eight wins on the season. Not sure where Mo was hangin out during the Michigan, MSU and Tulsa games. You can sometimes lose Mo if you have injuries, maybe that was it.

Last year Notre Dame had no Mo in November, no coach in December. The IRISH earned and banked Mo very slowly in 2010, through some fits and starts.

Currently there are plenty of teams wishing they had Notre Dame’s Mo going into 2011. Many play in the Big Ten.

Coach Brian Kelly knows Mo. Mo is confidence. Mo helps to develop your program to the Championship Level. He wants to feed and nurture Long Term Mo right up to playing South Florida, and then he will trade in some Long Term Mo for Short Term Mo.

Meet Notre Dame’s Long Term Mo:

++  Victories over Utah, Army, U$C, Miami.

++  A coaching staff, football players, trainers, cheerleaders, helmet painters, all brimming with abundent confidence and Mo.

Some More Mo We Need:


++  Successful finishing up recruiting and filling the holes in the roster.

++  A smart decision by Michael Floyd to stick around and suck up some of that Long Term Mo for his immiediate future and NFL career.

++  Serious decisions on which fifth year seniors to invite back.

++  Coach Paul Longo ratcheting up the conditioning and weigh training to ensure Long Term Mo does not decide to take a hiatus.

++  Spring practice that further instills Coach Kelly’s philosophy, program, and championship goals.

++  A clear idea who will be taking the first snap versus South Florida.

Coach Kelly has to continue to earn and bank Mo. You can never, ever have too much Mo.

Remember it takes time to build up and to safeguard Long Term Mo. It is easy to lose Short Term Mo.

This maybe what Mo looks like, but we are not sure.......




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Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010 Sun Bowl Awards (Very Unofficial)


++ Off The Bench Award – Nick Tausch (So) 34 yard field goal.

++ Doing Your Job Award – Tommy Rees (Fr) 29-15-0, No sacks. 2 touchdowns.

++ Everywhere Award – Harrison Smith (Sr) 6 solo tackles, 1 AST, 3 interceptions for 16 yards.

++ Unheralded Award – Ben Turk (So) 4 punts. 1 for 45 yards. 3 inside the 20 yard line, none returned.

++ Jumping to the NFL Award – Michael Floyd (Jr) 6 receptions for 109 yards, 2 touchdowns.

++ Non-Starter Award – Robert Blanton (Jr) three solo tackles, six AST, 1 interception.

++ Most Needed Improvement in 2011 Award* – John Goodman (Jr) 2 punt returns for 2 yards.

++ Give Us More in 2011 Please Award – Austin Collinsworth (Fr) 1 kickoff return for 34 yards.

++ Unable To Comprehend and Play in Cool Weather Award – Entire Miami Football Team.

* - Award will actually be presented to Head Coach Brian Kelly and Coach Mike Elston Special Teams Coach.

It should be noted that Harrison Smith has a year of eligibility left (future 5th year senior) and if Michael returns, their is a core of excellent players to build upon in 2011.  We are already leaning forward in the foxholes.

Then entire staff at Subway Alumni Station is proud to be the very first in 2011 and part of Notre Dame Land and Nation to say........

GO IRISH BEAT SOUTH FLORIDA  !!!


That’s a Well-Oiled Team



“That’s a well-oiled team,” said senior Miami cornerback Ryan Hill. “They’re disciplined. They don’t make mistakes. They don’t have too many penalties. And when they have that and we have what we have, the game’s going to go the way it did.”

Gracious comments from Mr. Hill in a losing cause. Let’s throw some numbers out to back up that well-oiled team.

Time of possession: Notre Dame 37:09 ---- Miami 22:51

That says volumes about ball control, controlling the tempo of the game and keeping the Miami offense shivering on the sidelines.

Penalties: Notre Dame 3-20 ---- Miami 10-106

This has to gladden the very soul of every Notre Dame fan. We had a spurt of penalties during the middle of the schedule and Brian Kelly apparently has yelled his way into the minds and hearts of the team. No off-sides. One illegal procedure. No pass interference. No holdings. No delay of game. The lack of these type penalties point to a well disciplined, well coached team.

Game Plan: Notre Dame had 48 rushes and 29 pass attempts while Miami was just about the opposite with 24 and 40. Kelly went to the run to dictate the type of game play he needed to keep the pressure off Tommy Rees and ensure no interceptions. Coach Kelly indicated back in South Bend at his last press interview that basically the team was ready. He sure called that one right.

Cold weather: The Canes looked cold. They acted even colder. Such a sad deer in the headlight look about them as they stood around wondering what time the flight was back to warm weather and Miami.  For cryin out loud, Manti Te'o looked and acted warmer.

Coach Kelly brought back the Leprechaun in the form of Theo Riddick. It was just the change of pace Tommy needed. While the wildcat plays had mixed results, they too contributed to the well-oiled team.

If you look at the abundant amount of game photos offered for the ND vs. Miami Sun Bowl, check out the leg muscles and biceps of the Notre Dame players compared to the Canes. Strength, conditioning, lead to confidence and playing with intensity. Miami appeared to have just showed up to grab the free swag and head home to Florida.

How much wild Irish celebration did you observe in the end zone after a touchdown? Any kneeling and pointing to the sky? Jam piling? Jumping into each other’s arms? After a tackle see any ND defensive player show-off for the cameras? That’s a ho-hum, business as usual well focused team. Slam, bam, thank you type team. Ok, we won, where is dinner and how late is the curfew?

How many solo tackles did Notre Dame have? 28. How many assists? 42. An awful lot of swarming and gang tackling. Miami got mugged.

Yes, it was a well-oiled team. One ready for winter conditioning and the expectations of spring practice.

Thank you Brian Kelly and staff. Thank you well-oiled Notre Dame Team.

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